Calipari to Kentucky(?), Bennett to Virginia: The impact out west

Back from my final day of furlough and ramping up coverage of the Final Four, post-season basketball and spring football. But the coaching carousel had to be the first topic, given the developments Monday.

Not surprising: John Calipari interested in Kentucky.

Surprising: Kentucky’s reported offer of $5 mill/year.

(That’s even more than the top-end college football coaches make — take that, Saban! — and bball salaries have generally trailed those for football.)

Very surprising: Tony Bennett takes the Virginia job.

I figured Bennett would be in Pullman for a few years after he opted to re-sign with WSU last spring instead of pursuing/taking other jobs (LSU, Indiana). And he has a very good freshman class.

His replacement will be walking into a decent situation with Klay Thompson and DeAngelo Casto.

As for that replacement … the Cougars are reportedly interested in Portland State coach/ex-Washington assistant Ken Bone, who’s well regarded in the industry and is well-versed in recruiting the Pacific Northwest.

You have to think a few WCC coaches might be interested (Randy Bennett?), (Kerry Keating?), (Eric Reveno?) — WSU is a better job than it was five years ago, thanks to the Bennetts.

I also wonder if Dan Monson, the former Gonzaga coach now at Long Beach State, would be interested in getting back to the Northwest and breaking into the Pac-10. (That would add a few volts to the WSU-Gonzaga rivalry.)

Update: The Seattle Times has reported that WSU plans to talk to former Gonzaga assistant Bill Grier — so Grier and Bone are confirmed candidates, the only two so far.

The Calipari situation — let’s assume, for the moment, that he takes the Kentucky job and the $5 million with it — could have huge implications for the Pac-10, and especially Arizona, by:

1. Reducing by one the names on Arizona’s short list.

The Cats want a heavy hitter, and very few of the elite coaches would be willing to leave their current positions.

Arizona isn’t going to get Bill Self or Jim Calhoun or Roy Williams, but there was some thought in Tucson that Calipari might be interested.

(One of his assistants, Josh Pastner, was on Lute Olson’s staff and is well thought of by Arizona officials.)

2. Increasing the chances that Rick Pitino, also on the Cats’ short list — and possibly at the top of it — stays at Louisville.

Calipari and Pitino used to be friends but haven’t gotten along in recent years. A Calipari move from Memphis to Kentucky would be a direct challenge to Pitino and, I’d think, make the uber-competitive Pitino think three times (if he was even thinking twice) about leaving Louisville.

2a. Then again, Calipari’s arrival in Lexington could have the opposite effect.

Maybe it prompts Pitino to move on — leave for a school and a state where he’s the undisputed king. That’s what Arizona has to be rooting for, and it’ll be fascinating to watch it play out.

3. Raising the price tag for Pitino, Tom Izzo, Jamie Dixon, Jay Wright … any and all of the top-tier coaches the Cats plan to pursue.

If it was going to cost $2.5 or 3 million annually to get Pitino/Izzo/Dixon/Wright, it might cost $3.5 or 4 … or more.

Pitino and Izzo have won national titles; Calipari hasn’t

(You have to think all college coaches are cheering Calipari’s $5 mill/year deal, because it raises the bar at the top of the profession, which eventually raises it in the middle and at the bottom.)

4. Potentially luring Tim Floyd away from USC.

I’d imagine that Floyd might be interested in the Memphis job: He’s from Mississippi and would be the biggest show on campus, something he’ll never be at USC.

And if Floyd left, it could start another chain reaction that could shake things up in the Pac-10, WCC and/or WAC